Breaking Bad Episode 5-13 Review – “To’hajiilee”

Did anyone else have trouble focusing on their jobs on Monday morning because they were STILL thinking about Breaking Bad? Hopefully that wasn’t just me.

Last night’s episode was so good, and so had be on the edge of my seat, that I can’t even fathom what the final three episodes will bring. Hot damn. If you haven’t seen it, get outta here (and come back later). If you have, click through.

Last week’s episode was slow, but we all knew why. The chess board was being set up, all the pieces were being put into place. Walt and Jesse needed to become more enemies than family.

So much happened in this episode, even without that heart-stopping final fifteen minutes. Walt met with Todd’s uncle Jack about the hit on Jesse. He told them to do it painlessly, “without suffering or fear” because Jesse is *almost* like family. That almost was still going to put a bullet in his head.

Getting mixed up with the nazis, owing them, all because he wasn’t able to do the job himself, that was a big mistake on Walt’s part. Mike was a professional, something these guys are not. These guys are goons with swastikas on their necks, not ex-cops trying to create a nest egg for their granddaughters. When Walt called them off in the desert, we all knew they’d still show up. Because they need Walt to learn how to cook meth better.

Walt’s biggest mistake, though, was underestimating Jesse and Hank. Assuming he was smart enough to keep outsmarting them. Assuming they’d never hate him enough to begin working together. That was a huge mistake. When Walt had Jesse’s ex-girlfriend call him, he never dreamed that Hank would be the one getting that voicemail.

Huell was integral to trying to take Walt down. Hank convinced him that his life was in danger, and they got just enough information from him to know where, generally, Walt’s money was – buried in the desert. One cheesy fake photo and a call from Jesse later, Walt was racing off to the place he’d buried it. He not only led the cops straight to it, but he confessed to some of his most heinous crimes over the phone. It was amateurish, because Walt was blinded by rage and greed.

You could argue that Hank made some rookie mistakes, too. They took their sweet time reading Walt his right’s, letting Jesse spit in his face, and Hank even called Marie before dialing tribal police. I liked that Hank’s call to Marie wasn’t just bragging, it was emotional. It was full of relief, on both ends. Hank thought the nightmare was over, because Hank had no idea that a truckload of armed Nazis were on their way – but he should have left with Walt right away. Of course, Jesse and Gomez likely still would have ended up dead.

So the Nazis arrived, Walt screamed pathetically from the van for them to stop, and the episode ended with an epic, completely lopsided gunfight. We don’t know for sure that Hank and Gomez are dead, but it certainly doesn’t look good for them. What about Jesse? He was sloooowly opening the car door, I assume to try and hide somewhere. Will he escape? Will Walt just become a meth cooking slave? Will poor Huell ever know it’s safe to leave the motel room?

It was a hell of a cliffhanger, but what really made this episode outstanding was how tense the silences were. Each and every moment felt like an eternity, in the best and worst ways.

Stray thoughts:

Walt Jr. meeting Saul was a brilliant addition to the episode. It drove home just how in the dark poor Walt Jr. is, and he played that excitement about meeting a local celebrity perfectly. The kid can do more than eat breakfast.

About The Author

Jill Mader

You can follow Jill at her blog, couchtimewithjill.com, or on Twitter @jillemader Jill has been an avid fan of TV since the age of two, when she was so obsessed with Zoobilee Zoo that her mother lied and told her it had been canceled. Despite that setback, she grew up to be a television aficionado and pop culture addict.

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